Last year, Caputo-Lee, who operated Ferrets Unlimited, moved to Virginia and disbanded the nonprofit rescue organization, which she had run from her Cleveland home since 1992.

Armed with a substantial donation, Caputo had purchased a property in Parma in 2006 for what would have been Ohio's only ferret shelter. At the time, she was keeping the rescued ferrets -- which numbered more than 80 -- in cages in her Cleveland home.

After she decided to move to Virginia, Caputo asked other ferret rescue volunteers to carry out her vision for a shelter, but they declined. They reorganized Ferrets Unlimited into a rescue operation with a network of about a dozen foster homes, where the animals stay until a permanent home can be found.

So far this year, the newly named Ferrets Unlimited Rescue Services has adopted out about 30 ferrets, says Deb Daugherty Benson, the nonprofit's president.

Ferrets Unlimited will take part in the Canine Fun Days from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Aug. 15-16 at the polo field in the Cleveland Metroparks South Chagrin Reservation in Moreland Hills.

The group has about 21 ferrets available for adoption. Go to www.ferretsunlimited.org to see photos of the available animals or to make a donation.

So far, the Cleveland Downtown Alliance hasn't placed any of the bright green donation meters on street corners. But the group hopes they will be in place later this summer.

Downtown Alliance spokesman Josh Taylor said the nonprofit group is acquiring permits from the city to install several meters throughout downtown.

"It's been going slow, but we should be getting the meters out within the next few weeks," Taylor said.

In 2007, the Downtown Alliance and other partners began the Homeless Education Campaign, an effort to stop aggressive panhandling downtown. The group distributed posters and placed signs on sandwich boards downtown that asked people not to give money to panhandlers.

The nonprofit agency, which works to improve downtown, said it wanted to find a way to stop panhandlers who hound passers-by for cash and to help those who need services the most.

Taylor said the group purchased old parking meters from the city and retrofitted them so they could collect donations. The meters were painted lime green and red and will be placed along sidewalks and away from regular parking meters so people won't be confused. He said the alliance is working on a map to determine where they will be placed.

"We believe this effort will help stop aggressive panhandling downtown, and we think it will funnel the generosity of people to those who are truly in need," Taylor said.

The money collected from the meters would be split between the Alliance and the Downtown Homeless Fund, a coalition of downtown churches and charities that support the effort.

Taylor said a portion of the collected money would be used by the alliance to help homeless individuals acquire proper identification and for job-training programs. The remainder would be given at the discretion of a board to charities that serve the homeless population downtown.

Some of the groups on the homeless fund committee include the Jewish Community Federation of Cleveland, Trinity Cathedral and Old Stone and Gateway churches.

Enter the home built in 1740, and its authenticity transports you back in time; walk out and you're in the housing market of 2009.

Morrison said some potential buyers who previously might have bought without first selling their current home aren't taking the risk, while others want a deal contingent on selling their homes first.

"Those offers are not accepted because you don't do that in this kind of a market," Morrison said. "You don't know when [the buyer's] home is going to sell."

The house has a rich history that includes a death-defying second act.

Plain Dealer, FileMoses Cleaveland

Moses Cleaveland bought the house -- which sat next to his childhood home in Canterbury, Conn. -- soon after returning from the expedition to "New Connecticut" (Northeast Ohio) during which he surveyed what's now the city that bears his name. The year was 1796; the price, $4,300.

By 1979 the house had fallen into disrepair and was slated for demolition. But a Hudson couple bought it and had it sent in pieces for its rebirth and reassembly on Stow Road. Current owners Nancy and Paul Holcomb later bought the home.

The 269-year-old three-bedroom house faces south, just as it did in Connecticut. It has original hand-hewn beams and wide-board floors. It also has updated wiring and plumbing, a wet bar, a wine cellar and a swimming pool complete with a slide.

The asking price -- once $669,000 -- is now $489,000.

"It's just a really special home that takes a person who sees the detailing in there and the history of it as exciting," Morrison said. It also needs someone who isn't turned off by a pool on the grounds of a Colonial-era home.

Pools can be tricky things regardless of a home's age -- some people love them; others don't.

But Morrison figures anyone who could buy the home could also fill in the pool.